If you want to stress an artist, yes, this is the right question, along with the other sentences that will boil their blood like "How lucky you are, I wish I was making money from what I like to do" or "This character reminds me of this thing or that series "or" What brush did you use? "And the list goes on and on.

I have seen myself many times in the position of those who get asked these things, and believe me, it is unnerving, trying to answer these sentences and questions without screaming out loud or offend the other person, you need a lot of self-control and congratulations to all the artists who have come so far without killing someone (?)

Before we start with this entry, a quick disclaimer. Obviously we will not only try to seek help from professionals, illustrators, conceptual artists, etc, it can also be an art director, editor, or just someone a little more advanced than you technically, but I will use "professional artist" to refer to everyone and avoid wasting time looking for a word that sums them all up every time I need to make the reference. Ok, let's continue!

Personally, I love helping people, that's why I started this blog in the first place. And I'm sure many other professionals feel the same way, but there are times that the approach that makes a novel artist can take away the desire to even answer back. Hence, this blog post. The idea is to give you a more general picture of how to approach an artist you admire / know for critiques, questions, portfolio revew etc., and that the experience is pleasant for both of you.

How to establish the first contact:I think the easiest way, is through social networks, most of us are very hooked (?) Out of necessity "obviously". But there are also many others ways, for example, conventions, talks, online streamings, hangouts, drawing meetings, etc. Maybe that same artist has a blog, where he gives advices, where he has already answered most of your questions and you without knowing (?), Maybe a patreon etc. Research, search for channels of conversation and opt for the most appropriate for the type of query you have in mind.

Online contact:The first thing is to understand that most of us are very busy working, all the time, okay, most of the time. Likewise, it is their time and it is quite possible that they have it fairly adjusted, so try to understand, that it is not always a good time to talk, if in a first contact, they don't respond back, give it some time and try again, ALWAYS BE POLITE.If they are in a streaming, they will directly thank you for the questions! we spend a lot of time alone in our heads and it is very easy to abstract ourselves fully in our thoughts, but with the watchers, the nervousness, and the desire to make entertaining the content, it can become overwhelming, so, it is the best time ever, comment your ideas, ask your doubts and DO NOT BE A TROLL!

In real life, it depends on the situation, tends to be a more direct contact, most of us are rare antisocial people (?) So, it will be a bit akward, but if you start with common themes, it'll help with the mood, eas the field and get more confident with each other, more open for the next round of questions that are most important to you. Talking about materials is usually a fairly safe topic (?), If it's digital artist, then the equivalent, software and hardware.

What to ask:Obviously that depends on you, but I just want to make sure that you understand and have clear your questions before you are face to face with the artist, you don't have only one shot for this like in a movie of course, but also do not ask for example in what school did they study, That will not solve any problem because you will assume facts that possibly have nothing to do with the growth of them as artists, and they will have clear idea that you have no clue of what you want to do with your time.

Critiques:This is a delicate subject, you have to know how to differentiate when you want a critique or when you want someone to just tell you nice things about your work. If you are looking for the second, ask your mom or someone in your family who don't have any idea what you do and they will tell you nice things to make you feel good(most of the time) . Understand that critiques are hard, most (at least mine) have to be, and you are exposing yourself for someone else to destroy your ego. Be ready for that and don't take it personally.

When do you need a critique?Almost always, we ourselves already have the answers we need, we may not see them right away, but let the work breathe, take a walk, clear your head, when you return to the painting, you will almost always see what it lacks.You can also seek help with other artists, which I highly recommend, approach a group of people with whom you can talk without taboos about your pieces, They may not give you the most accurate critiques of the planet, but generally we all know when something does not work well, maybe they do not know how to express it, but they will identify the problem and that's already 50% less work. That way you keep that 20 mana card called "Talk to the Pro" for when it's really worth it.

What to do and what to NEVER DO in a critiques session:At last, you decided, you have already reached a point with your work in which you do not know what you need to improve in it, or there is a workshop or meeting nearby and you have the opportunity in front of you, and you are going to ask for a portfolio review yes or yes.Most important thing, LISTEN, LET him talk, let him do the thing! then ask if you have any doubt left. But do not start to justify your work: "Oh yes I was going to fix that later" "Yes, I know, I know, it's wrong, but ..." or "But, compared to my previous work, it's much better." Things like that do not interest anybody and they only hurt you, above all, you are wasting that artist time, after he has left aside more pressing things and with a more direct benefit for him, to lend you a hand.You already have the review, now what? Well, not always the professional artist is 100% accurate, that's for sure. Now it's your turn to try to make sense of their words, interpret the meaningless metaphors (if you talk with me, I'll probably give you a lot of those) and evaluate if you're going to use those tips they gave you or not. Of course, it is very possible that he is right. But you always have the last word, who better than you to understand your intent with your work, after all you are (or should be) your best critic, make use of that! contrasts impressions and adjust them to a better and more complete work.

Surely another of the many entries that need a second part, but for now is quite loaded, let me know your experience from one or another side of the matter. I hope it helps to improve the experience and get more out of those conversations!See you around!